


Blossoms

by hips_of_steel



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Civil War, Gen, Siblings, its soft and its good for my soul
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2018-09-01
Packaged: 2019-06-25 11:26:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15639783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hips_of_steel/pseuds/hips_of_steel
Summary: April, 1865Oregon takes her little brother Idaho through the orchard behind California's house, admiring the spring blossoms.





	Blossoms

**Author's Note:**

> A list of who's who:
> 
> Oregon: Beverly  
> Idaho: Clark  
> Washington (State): Martha  
> California: Roberto  
> Texas: Sam  
> Original Female Character: Laura (Roberto's housekeeper/friend)
> 
> As always, Texas belongs to crikadelic!

_ April, 1865 _

Beverly picks up the crawling baby, holding him in her arms as he realizes who she is and smiles, tucking his head into her neck and murmuring a few sounds. She adjusts the little shawl she's wearing around them both, and then steps outside.

Clark giggles and coos and murmurs "Beb" at her as they walk out into the orchard. Beverly has watched Roberto cultivate these trees over the years, grafting and tending them, teaching her and Martha to do the same. There's everything here, from fruit to nuts. Beverly points out a bird's nest nestled in one tree to the boy in her arms.

"Look, Clark."

He turns his head, and she continues. 

"See the little birdies? They're babies just like you. They say 'cheep cheep'. Can you do that?"

Clark instead blows a raspberry, and Bev laughs. He grins at her, and she smiles right back, adjusting her grip to carry him a little higher, before walking deeper into the orchard.

She approaches the cherry tree in full bloom, and points at the blossoms.

"Look at them Clark. Aren't they so pretty?"

He laughs and claps as best he can with his little hands, and Beverly pulls down a small little twig with a few blossoms, giving it a sniff. Clark attempts to follow suit by planting his face directly into the blossoms, and Beverly laughs when he yanks back, pollen dusted all over his face. She laughs even harder when he then immediately sneezes, the two little sneezes leading to him blinking up at her as though he's not quite sure what just happened.

They sit down at the base of the cherry tree. She's here alone with Clark today. Laura took Martha off to buy food. Normally, Beverly would have been forced to come along as well, but by agreeing to let Laura and Martha take Jackrabbit and Ginger, she had given up the only horses that liked her well enough to take her anywhere. Roberto's horse Clara might have taken her about a mile or so before turning right around and trotting home.

And besides, she wouldn't leave Clark alone. She'd meant it when she'd told Roberto that she'd stop trying to run. It was time that she stay close to home, if for no other reason than her two younger siblings.

She pulled a soft cookie out of her pocket, breaking off a piece for Clark, who proceeded to gum it for a little while while she nibbled on the rest, and then she wrapped him up tightly in the shawl, telling him stories and rocking him until he fell asleep against her.

The Californian spring was settling in all around them, and she smiled fondly, closing her own eyes for a few moments.

She may have nodded off, or perhaps it was mere moments later that she heard a voice calling her name. 

"Beverly!"

She sat up straight with a start. That was Roberto's voice! What was he doing here? She hadn't heard that he was coming home. But still, she called out a response.

"In the orchard!"

Clark woke up at that, not quite sure what reaction was warranted yet by this sudden disturbance of his sleep, and decided as she stood up with him that it deserved to be cried at.

He was close to bawling when she emerged into the little yard between the house and the orchard.

Roberto had tied Zorro's reins to the hitching post near the water trough, speaking softly to the stallion while scratching at his neck. But he glanced up when he heard Clark wailing, and walked over, meeting them halfway.

"Looks like someone's nap was interrupted."

She nods, and Roberto takes him from her. Clark continues to cry, until he realizes that she's no longer holding him.

He whirls and leans back rapidly when he sees Roberto, who laughs. "Hello Clark. You weren't expecting me, were you?"

There's a few quiet hiccups through the tears of Clark, a little wide eyed and frightened still, and Roberto gives him a few soft bounces in his arms, humming until he calms down. Then he turns back towards Beverly.

"Where are Laura and Martha?"

"In town. They took Jackrabbit and Ginger."

Roberto raises an eyebrow at her, but then shrugs, bouncing Clark. He's still dressed in his Union blue uniform, but he seems more at ease than she's seen him in five years or more, as if something heavy has been lifted from his shoulders. She waits for a few moments before asking.

"Roberto... why are you home?"

There's a pause as he adjusts his grip on Clark, and then looks back down at her. She knows she's not much older than she was at the beginning of this war, and she's hardly given him reason to trust her, with her attempts to run away to see Sam, but she hopes he'll tell her.

He finally sighs, looking back at Clark for a moment before turning to her. "Alfred's released me from military service. The war is ending."

Beverly blinks in surprise a few times, and Roberto carefully crosses over to the porch, sitting himself down on the steps, and Beverly sits next to him. He settles Clark down onto his lap, and glances at her.

"Lee surrendered in Virginia. The war is ending, but it's not over yet. However, Alfred feels it's safe enough to release me from service, so I can rest and be ready to help with efforts elsewhere."

"That's good. I'm glad the war is ending."

There's a long silence between them, and then Roberto sighs, taking her hand.

"He's still fighting. And things aren't going to be good, Bev, but he's going to live. Once he surrenders, it may take a few years, but things will go back to normal. And then you'll see him again. I know every day is hard, but soon enough, it will be over."

She doesn't respond, but soon enough, her head is resting on his shoulder, and he wraps his arm around her. "Until then, I'll do my best."

"Your best is really good, you know." She murmurs, and there's a pause, and his arm tightens around her.

"Yo también te amo, hermanita."

She smiles and stays there with him and Clark until there's the sounds of other horses approaching, and Martha and Laura return. Roberto gets up, handing Clark back to her, and she watches the way he smiles at Laura, who acts restrained in only giving him a small hug at his announcement, and then the way he grabs Martha and spins her around as she laughs in delight.

She glances back down at Clark, who stares up at her, and then cracks into a beautiful little grin once more.

"BEB!"

"Yes. That's me, Clark. I love you."

He giggles and reaches up towards her face, which she lowers, pressing a kiss to his forehead, and hearing him giggle.

As much as she loves Sam, as much as he's raised her, this is the family that needs her right now. She's not going to forget him. That's impossible, and as soon as she can see him again, she'll go and see him.

But right now, there's someone here who needs her more.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me at hipsofsteel.tumblr.com or crikadelic at crikadelic.tumblr.com


End file.
